


Souls

by queen_scribbles



Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: Friendship, Gen, star-gazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-20 03:23:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11912178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_scribbles/pseuds/queen_scribbles
Summary: And then my soul saw you and it kind of went "Oh, there you are. I've been looking for you."For pillarsprompts weekly on tumblr





	Souls

**Author's Note:**

> _And then my soul saw you and it kind of went "Oh, there you are. I've been looking for you."_  
>  For pillarsprompts weekly on tumblr

 

_Many ages ago, before the foundations of the great fortress Caed Nua had been laid, before Defiance Bay was a glimmer in an architect’s eye, there were two scholars of Eir Glanfath, Tala and Averin. They were nigh inseparable; never one seen without the other close behind. The stories can’t agree if they were friends, lovers, siblings, or something else, but their bond was unbreakable. Even, some say, by death. Souls twinned to one another. Inexplicably drawn together every time they finish a turn on the Wheel and are reborn. Restless and empty until they reunite. If they reunite. Souls are funny things, and the gods can be fickle. Friends, lovers, strangers who never meet, Tala and Averin have been all, through countless lives._

_Or so the tales claim. But everyone knows most tales are no more than a lick of truth dressed up in pretty lies. Most._

>o<

“Come to join me again tonight?” Kana asked with a smile as she approached. 

Emiri smiled back and shrugged. “What can I say, it’s habit-forming, and I can’t sleep anyway.” 

His expression shifted to one of concern. “Things have gotten worse since the animancy hearing, haven’t they?”

She nodded. “Since then I’m lucky to get an hour’s rest without the dreams making an appearance. What’s your excuse this time? Still star gazing?”

Kana gave a sheepish laugh and patted the ground next to him. ”Does it make it better if I promise I don’t do this every night?”

Emiri’s smile widened as she sat next to him, leaning back against the cool adrastone pillar so their shoulders were just barely touching. “A little. So, I have the good fortune of only being driven to wander by my insomnia on the nights you’re out here?”

Kana shrugged, looking up at the stars. “Perhaps it’s the gods doing you a kindness. Sleepless nights are much harder to face alone.”

She snorted a wry chuckle, fingers tangling absently in blades of grass. “If the gods are doing me a kindness, it would be the first.” It took an effort not the rub her scarred wrists, or dwell on various other mementos of her last two decades.

“There is a first time for everything, Emiri,” he pointed out gently, after a moment’s pause.

“Kind of wish the first time had come when I was screaming myself hoarse asking one of them to strike the pirates dead where they stood,” Emiri said with a humorless smile. Her expression softened, almost teasing. “But your company’s good, too.”

Kana chuckled. “I suppose I can live with being the consolation prize if it makes your burdens a little easier to bear.”

“It’s more than a little,” Emiri said softly, bumping her shoulder against his. “Having friends--to help, but also in general--makes things a lot better.”

They settled into silence after that, comfortable as it stretched between them. It was always like that when she was around Kana, Emiri reflected as the adra warmed against her back. Maybe it was the kindness he’d shown her from the beginning, maybe his general air of openness, but she felt like she’d known him forever instead of just a few months.

She tilted her head, gaze drifting to the stars, and started reviewing the constellations she knew. She got stuck on the bright pair off to the west, fairly certain she’d never seen them before. “Kana?”

“Mm?” He sounded distracted, meaning she’d likely pulled him from a reverie of his own.

“What’s that one?” Emiri pointed to the twin stars. “I don’t remember them.”

Kana took a moment to follow her outstretched arm and locate the constellation in question. “Ah, the Twins. They’re not always so bright, and thus easily missed.”

“What’s their story?” Emiri pulled her knees toward her chest and folding her arms across them. “Can’t imagine it’s very long, simple as the name is.”

“On the contrary,” Kana said with a smile. “It’s not named for their proximity, or even an actual set of twins, but rather for soul twins.” Something in the way she reacted--he’d always been better at reading her than most--had him raising an eyebrow. “You’ve heard of them before, then?”

Emiri flashed back to Gilded Vale, Caldera, the conversation that revealed she was a Watcher. “Once. Without a lot of detail. Tell me about these two.”

“Tala and Averin,” he began. “They lived during the height of Eir Glanfath. The tales never have agreed what nature of kith they were, or even their relationship. Most claim they were lovers, but a fair few insist they were friends, and I’ve even heard a version that cast them as siblings.” He shifted position slightly, peeling apart a stalk of grass as he continued. “All that truly matters is that they were inseparable. They were so close in life that when their time came to return to the Wheel, their souls had bonded together. Some claim they were the very first soul twins, the first to find each other life after life. True or no, it remains that they were always drawn to one another, no matter how far the gods scattered them. There were, of course, times when they were born years or decades or continents apart, or never found each other, but most times they succeeded. Eventually the gods were so impressed by these souls’ tenacity that they hung two new stars in the sky as testament . It’s said the stars shine brighter when both Tala and Averin walk the living world, and dim when they return to the Wheel.”

“I like that one,” Emiri commented idly, leaning back against the adra until she felt it press the halo-like growth encircling her head. “Are they always lovers, when they find each other?”

Kana shook his head. “The exact balance varies by the teller, but friends or lovers get a fairly even share... a few even say they came back as actual twins a time or two.”

Emiri smiled as she looked at the brightly glimmering stars. “Well, they must be walking the world somewhere. I don’t think I’ve ever seen stars brighter.”

Kana chuckled. “Perhaps that means they’ve also found each other again.”

It was a nice thought, and Emiri let her mind drift with it until she felt the subtle pull of the past wanting to share its stories with her. She, as always, let it. The images flooded in; a dwarven woman shoulder to shoulder with an orlan man, both in scholar’s garb, chattering excitedly, talking _over_ each other as much as _to_ each other in their shared enthusiasm. Then was a pair of elven women, red hair contrasting against black, warriors who moved as one, unbeatable and inseparable. A human farming couple, aumaua sailors, a dwarven miner and elven noble, all blurring past until she was left with a sense of both cheerful restlessness and cautiously optimistic relief.The latter was all too familiar; she’d lived with it for a solid month after the shipwreck that allowed her escape.

“...miri?” Kana’s voice broke through, not overtly concerned--he’d seen her do the Watcher thing before--just checking on her.

“I’m fine,” she assured him, blinking a few times to center herself on the present. “Just seeing some old memories. Theirs, I think.” She nodded toward the Twins.

“Really?” He sounded surprised. “I thought you could only read a soul through the person it was currently inhabiting, or an object they possessed.”

Emiri shrugged, feeling the adra rub her spine. “Maybe this is enhancing my abilities so I can see the memories simply by thinking about them.” She let out a small sigh and shifted closer to him. “You should probably get some sleep, Kana. I was thinking tomorrow we could venture into Od Nua, look for your book? Figure you want to be rested for that. No telling what we’ll find down there.”

Kana smiled. “All very true, and thank you.” He pushed to his feet and offered her a hand up.

Emiri shook her head. “I’m going to sit here a while longer, clear my head, before I try sleeping again. But you definitely helped.”

He nodded. “Glad to hear it. You deserve your rest as much as the rest of us, if not more. Goodnight, Emiri.”

“G’night, Kana.” She watched him walk back toward Brighthollow, her soul warmed by his concern, before her gaze drifted back to the stars.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to play with this idea of soul twins since the first time I heard Caldera talk about her parents. I almost did something to that effect with Tavi and Aloth, but I could make it work in a way I was happy with. So when this prompt showed up, Emiri kinda tugged on my sleeve and went "Hey, Mom, what about me?" and here we are.


End file.
